


Eager for the stars

by uxiumin



Category: EXO (Band), K-pop
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Alternate Universe - Space, M/M, Space Pirates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:14:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25013755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/uxiumin/pseuds/uxiumin
Summary: Jongdae wants more, Minseok offers him a hand filled with stars and adventure.
Relationships: Kim Jongdae | Chen/Kim Minseok | Xiumin
Comments: 19
Kudos: 29
Collections: Challenge #4 — Into the Future





	Eager for the stars

**Author's Note:**

> for TinySparks Challenge #4

The slim hand in front of him is offering Jongdae everything he had always dreamt of. Everything his actual work can't offer, everything he wished for himself when he was at college: the stars, the universe, discoverings, and mysteries waiting to be unveiled at the other side of the galaxy.

Yet, he hesitates.

The Cylinder keeps spinning while he tries to make a decision. He had been working inside the Cylinder, an engineering masterpiece of metal, glass, and the most innovative electronic floating around Earth that will soon be the first space colony of the Blue Planet. When Jongdae accepted the job he thought that he was going to see the universe shining in all of its splendor, colorful nebulae showing him the way to new worlds... but in the end, Jongdae's job ended up being countless hours of data checking and preparing plants, oxygen, and water for the first colonizers of the Cylinder. A space gardener, basically.

He is done with all that. He didn't study Astrophysics and Biology to be a space gardener. He wants more. But he isn't sure about the hand offering him the entire universe.

“I don't have the time, Jongdae" — Captain Minseok's voice woke Jongdae out of his thoughts. There is something about him that doesn't make sense to Jongdae. He has heard things about space pirates, men and women that travel the galaxies without following any rules, brothers, and sisters in arms that seek the company of the stars while searching for treasures of alien civilizations, yet Minseok isn't like that. He walks haughtily, with an electric blue coat over his shoulders and black clothes covering the rest of his stylized body. His feline eyes — one black and the other blue — are intense and Jongdae is sure that they could pierce the thick layer of glass and the energy barrier of the Cylinder if he wanted too, he wears his hair long at the fringes but short on the back, so it's easy to spot several electronic enhancements on his nape. He might look like a pirate, but he is polite and didn't cause any harm to the Cylinder or other scientist working inside — not that the guards could say the same.

Jongdae's eyes don't want to travel any more across Captain Minseok's attractive face or body, so instead, they travel to his spacecraft. Triangle-shaped, with several turbines and a purple hue around its shape, probably some sort of protective barrier. From there Jongdae could discern several human figures at the control bridge waiting for his Captain. Floating outside the Cylinder the spacecraft looks massive and it blocks the beautiful view of the Earth, one of the best things the Cylinder has. When Minseok arrived he introduced himself to Jongdae, the only scientist or worker in the area that hadn't run away immediately. He is looking for a scientist, and Jongdae can feel his heart wanting to grab that hand and leave the Cylinder forever...

“Why do you need a scientist? And what type of scientist do you need?” — Jongdae asked. Captain Minseok introduced himself but didn't explain his motives.

Whit a sigh, he explained. “My crew found a creature some weeks ago, on a dwarf planet beyond Pluto. We thought the place was empty, but it wasn't. It's nothing like we've seen before.”

“Why a pirate would be interested in that?” — Jongdae asked arching one brow.

Captain Minseok chuckled. “Can't a Captain Pirate be a bit of a philanthropist?”

“That's for humans, not aliens” — Jongdae chuckled. “And I thought that pirates usually preferred to use violence”

“I'm a nice guy. And why should I use brute strength when words and a smile can do the same?” — the blink Minseok used to finish his statement sent a shiver across Jongdae's body. This is an absolutely unfair situation to Jongdae and while he tried to show no emotion — and failing miserably — Minseok approached as swiftly as a cat. “Is that little smirk I see a yes?”

Jongdae's cheeks betrayed him. “Maybe.”

“Oh, playing hard to get, I see” — Minseok chuckled while walking in circles around Jongdae. The scientist felt like a steak about to be devoured. “I'm always up for a good tug-of-war, but I'm sure that new space jets and guards are on their way here, because, after all, this is trespassing. So, I'm going to tell you how this is going to work” — Minseok left Jongdae's side to approach again the entrance his spacecraft created through the glass with a laser a while ago. “You are coming with me. You'll see nebulae burning, planets being born, stars dancing in the most obscure darkness in the universe, you'll be free. You'll help me discover what that thing inside my spacecraft is, and while you do all that you can play as hard to get as you want. I promise I'll play along." — he blinked his blue eye with a way too attractive smirk. “Because that's what you really want, am I right, Jongdae?”

“I hate you already” — Jongdae said with his cheeks still betraying him. Captain Minseok had nailed every single point. He hit bull's eyes every single time, and he did it flawlessly.

“Does that mean that you are coming with me or that you want to keep helping create the first hotel complex in space?” — Minseok asked acting naïve.

Jongdae approached the platform towards the spacecraft and to Minseok's hands. “Show me all those things you've promised. Otherwise, this will be boring.”

Minseok laughed heartily, his winner grin shined as brightly as the Sun. Jongdae noticed the Captain took his hand firmly yet softly, leaving a small caress between his fingers. Leaning close to Jongdae, he simply whispered: “I can already tell that we are going to be very close.”

**Author's Note:**

> I had a pretty concise idea as soon as I saw the topic, but even so, it had been a super fun challenge! Thanks for reading!


End file.
